Immortal Takeout - Chapter 9

When Ta Nuo found Manager Lin, he was sitting atop a tall mangosteen tree, legs crossed, the tip of his tail dangling in the air, moving slowly and rhythmically, as if slapping the wind.

The mountain mangosteen’s fruiting season was nearly over. The round, spherical fruits had turned from greenish-yellow to brown. A slight shake would send them plummeting, catching anyone off guard. The fruits were sour and astringent, and eating them would stain one’s teeth yellow, so they were also called “yellow teeth.” Ta Nuo didn’t like them. Occasionally, experienced demons would use them to treat toothaches. When Ta Nuo was a child, he had eaten too much sugar, and his otter mother had once forced him to swallow one by pinching his neck. The taste was unforgettable.

Ta Nuo slowly walked to the tree, looked up, and saw only a lively, twitching white tail. He was thinking about how to greet the Manager Lin when suddenly he yelped and covered his head. He had been hit on the head by a mangosteen.

From above came the sound of loud, meowing laughter.

Ta Nuo scowled and rubbed the fur on his forehead with his paws. It doesn’t sound like Meimei at all, he thought to himself, but dared not say it aloud.

“It seems you’re here to deliver food,” Manager Lin said from above, his voice vague and condescending.

“Hmm,” he nodded, then realized that Manager Lin was so high up that he probably couldn’t see his head. He pulled out the hard-earned can from his small backpack and struggled to hold it up with both front paws, trying to make it clearer for Manager Lin to see. His paws were simply too short, making such a gesture quite difficult. So he simply placed the can on his head, carefully supporting it with his paws, and staggered two more steps toward the base of the tree. “Manager Lin, your takeout has arrived. Please sign for it!” he shouted, trying to make his voice penetrate the layers of branches.

“I heard you,” Manager Lin replied lazily. “I don’t want to come down. Bring it up to me.”

He looked up at the straight, towering tree trunk, then down at his own two paws, feeling a bit troubled. Sea otters can’t climb trees, after all. However, from the very first day he started working at Immortal Takeout, he had been told that delivering food was a tough job, even for humans. They were often required to deliver food to remote, inaccessible areas, climb to high floors, or brave the rain to deliver meals on time and at specific locations.

He considered himself unafraid of hardship, so this minor setback was certainly not an excuse for him to back down. He put the can back into his cloth bag, took a few steps forward, turned around, took a deep breath, and sprinted toward the tree trunk, finally slamming himself onto it with a thud.

“Good, my hind paws are off the ground,” Ta Nuo comforted himself. He twisted his waist, trying to go further.

First, use the hind legs to hook onto the tree trunk and stabilize the body, then use the front legs to pull oneself up. See, look, it’s simple….

A minute later, he failed. He clung to the gray-white tree trunk, helplessly kicking his hind legs, and eventually stopped at a height of one meter above the ground, unable to move upward even a single step.

Ta Nuo had never climbed a tree before, and he had no desire to do so. The limbs of sea otters are not suited for overly strenuous physical activity. After all, they are animals that spend most of their time in the ocean.

The fur on his belly was scratched by the rough bark, causing some pain. He buried his face in the tree trunk and secretly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. He pondered how he could continue climbing upward. Perhaps he should transform back into human form, so he could use his hands to grip the trunk. This was merely a rough idea; Ta Nuo had never climbed a tree in human form and had no confidence in it. But since he was a sea otter, he had to try.

He made up his mind, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and encouraged himself. Then he let go with all four paws and let his body fall downward. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, a natural carpet formed by the moist leaves accumulated over the entire autumn and winter seasons. He landed with a thud in the layer of fallen leaves, not feeling much pain, just a bit of discomfort in his buttocks.

He rubbed his buttocks and stood up, just as he was about to transform into human form, a snort of laughter came from the tree.

“You’re so clumsy, you can’t even climb a tree. Are you a sea pig?”

Ta Nuo wanted to correct him, as there seemed to be no such animal as a sea pig in the world. However, Manager Lin did not give him any opportunity to refute him. He stood on tiptoe, leaped lightly into the air, and with his beautiful long tail providing perfect balance, he landed lightly on the ground after a few jumps.

Ta Nuo lowered his head in shame.

Manager Lin stood up straight, brushing imaginary dust off his body with his two white front paws, then adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and gave a perfect, deliberate smile. “Where’s my can?” he asked, extending his paw.

Ta Nuo pulled out the can, holding it in both hands, and handed it to Manage Lin.

Manager Lin leaned in, sniffed it carefully, confirmed the scent, then satisfied, held the can, chose a dry and clean piece of dead wood, jumped up and sat down, crossed his legs elegantly, and bit open the can with his teeth.

“After becoming a spirit, cans are much easier to open.” Manager Lin licked his claws, which were sticky with canned juice, and pulled out a silver spoon from his backpack. His claws were quite dexterous, able to quickly scoop out a large spoonful of canned meat and stuff it into his mouth. His whiskers twitched slightly, his eyes narrowed into slits, looking very satisfied.

This was Ta Nuo’s happiest moment. His efforts had provided others with a satisfying meal, which gave him a sense of accomplishment. To be honest, this was the first order he had completed on his own, and it was truly worth celebrating.

“Come here, I have something to ask you,” Lin the caretaker said, stuffing canned food into his mouth while beckoning to Ta Nuo.

This was a bit strange; Manager Lin was not the kind of cat who would chat with others.

Nevertheless, Ta Nuo obediently climbed up the tree trunk and sat down. He had injured his claws while climbing the tree, and they still hurt a bit. Ta Nuo shifted his round body uncomfortably, trying to find a comfortable position.

Manager Lin’s questions were all strange. He kept asking about irrelevant details, as if he wanted Ta Nuo to recreate the scene of his meeting with Lin Zhou that day. Unfortunately, Ta Nuo’s language skills were quite limited, and after asking him for a long time, he only answered with boring answers such as “He seems like a nice person,” “He seems healthy,” and “He seems happy.”

Manager Lin seemed a little disappointed, and the speed at which he ate slowed down. In the end, he was almost constantly scraping the soup from the bottom of the can, and didn’t actually eat much.

He tried his best to recall more details. He rubbed his face and thought hard, then added in a halting voice, “Mr. Lin now has a lot of cats. There should be…” He hesitated, “around forty, I think.” He wasn’t very good with numbers, and although Mr. Lin had mentioned it to him before, he didn’t remember clearly, which made him feel a bit embarrassed.

As soon as Ta Nuo finished speaking, a sharp metallic scraping sound echoed in his ears. He instinctively reached out his paw to cover his ears.

Manager Lin’s beautiful silver spoon broke.

Ta Nuo’s fur stood on end.

Manager Lin threw down the spoon expressionlessly, and it clattered into the can. “Oh?” he said slowly, enunciating each word clearly, “Tell me again, how many cats does he have?”

Ta Nuo nervously rubbed his face. “Maybe forty, or maybe forty-five.” He wasn’t sure, and added, “But when I left, I heard Mr. Lin was planning to adopt another beautiful calico female cat and her kittens. I think the final number might reach fifty.” He was satisfied with his answer; it was a perfect calculation.

Manager Lin’s face grew darker and darker, and he could no longer smile. He threw down the can, his mustache twisted with anger.

Ta Nuo’s cheeks were almost rubbed raw from his own hands. Delivering takeout and handling after-sales service was really a hassle.

Manager Lin furrowed his brow and asked, “Speaking of which, doesn’t Da Luo General Store have spirit-enhancing supplements? Can they be delivered?”

Spirit-enhancing supplements can help cultivating spirits reach enlightenment more quickly, accelerating their spiritualization progress to a certain extent. Their effects are similar to the panaceas found in the human world of immortal cultivation.

Ta Nuo bowed his head in shame again, “They do have them…” but the young boss still refuses to sell them to him.

Manager Lin scolded, “Don’t you claim to be a spirit-enhancing takeout business? If you can’t even work with the general store’s business, how can you expect to sustain it in the long run?”

Ta Nuo curled himself into a ball.

“If you can negotiate a partnership with the grocery store, I can guarantee you ten orders a month. How about that?” Manager Lin tempted.

It was indeed tempting, but he couldn’t control the young boss’s own thoughts, could he? Ta Nuo had a little confidence, but it was as fleeting as dewdrops on a summer morning—it seemed abundant at first, but vanished the moment the sun rose.

Seeing Ta Nuo’s dejected expression, Manager Lin couldn’t suppress his anger. He angrily tugged at Ta Nuo’s small ear. Ta Nuo let out a soft cry, struggled to free his ear, rolled to the side, and stared at Manager Lin with wide, confused eyes.

“Never mind,” Manager Lin sighed and smiled, “I was too impatient.” He returned to his usual aloof demeanor, though his expression now carried a hint of melancholy.

Ta Nuo cupped his face, staring silently at him, motionless.

Manager Lin twitched his mustache, flashing his trademark fake smile again. “Go back first. If I ever want canned food again, I’ll come find you.” He said this.

“Can I give you a five-star review?” Ta Nuo raised his paw and mustered the courage to ask.

Lin the Manager sneered, “What do you think?”

Ta Nuo felt there was hope. He chuckled twice and asked, “What about my delivery fee?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? This canned food wasn’t bought; it was free.”

“Oh right, I forgot.” “ He nodded, realizing he couldn’t charge for it, ”What about my delivery fee?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself?” Lin was almost laughing in frustration, “First order is free of delivery fees.”

“Oh right, I did say that.” He hung his head. Thinking about it, the first order took two days of effort and didn’t make a single cent.

Perhaps feeling sorry for Ta Nuo’s pitiful appearance, Manager Lin unexpectedly felt a rare pang of sympathy. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a strange-looking green ball, tossing it to Ta Nuo.

Ta Nuo instinctively caught it and brought it to his nose to sniff. Ah-choo—what is this? It smells weird. Ta Nuo sneezed several times in a row.

Manager Lin, was amused and cheerfully twitched his ear tips. “This is a good thing,” he explained. “When you have a cat you love in the future, give it to her, and it will definitely win the cat’s favor.”

But I’m a sea otter. Why would I have a beloved cat? Ta Nuo found it strange, but didn’t argue. Anyway, even though the green ball smelled a bit odd, it was quite pretty and should make a nice gift.

Ta Nuo carefully put the ball into his bag and bowed to Manager Lin.

Manager Lin still had that haughty expression, with his odd gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose and a forced smile like a mask.

Ta Nuo suddenly had an epiphany. It turned out that Manager Lin had been imitating Mr. Lin Zhou all along—the same gold-rimmed glasses, always wearing a smile. However, his smile didn’t reach his eyes and looked a bit stiff.

He must have missed his human master, too. Although Manager Lin had never stated it, Ta Nuo suspected he wouldn’t pursue the path of immortal cultivation.

The otter mother said that although animals that had become spirits could cultivate, not many ultimately chose that path. Such a long life, reincarnation, spring flowers and autumn moon, left alone, how lonely it must be.

More transformed beings choose the path of becoming human, as it is shorter and easier to walk. Not only because becoming human offers greater survival space than being an animal, but also because, after transforming into humans, they can enjoy the five senses and seven emotions, roam freely in this world, and depart without regret. Neither too long nor too short—just right.

Ta Nuo stood up and started walking home, but suddenly an impulse made him turn around. “Hey—Manager Lin—I forgot to tell you—” he shouted, and the echoes lingered heavily in the shallow valley.

Manager Lin looked up at him, his clear, luminous green eyes shimmering with an otherworldly glow in the dappled light.

“Mr. Lin really liked a cat named Lin Meimei—”

Ta Nuo finished shouting, then turned and ran off quickly, clutching his stomach.

If he had hesitated a moment longer, he feared he might get beaten.

Wait! As he ran, panting heavily, a brilliant idea suddenly came to him. Perhaps I should give this little green ball to the young boss at the general store. Since Mr. Lin said it was a good thing, it should make a decent gift.

Maybe the young boss will like it!